Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 61
कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य शिवरात्रौ समागताः । प्रासादे तत्र मुनयः प्राप्ता शाण्डिल्यपूर्वकाः
kasyacittvatha kālasya śivarātrau samāgatāḥ | prāsāde tatra munayaḥ prāptā śāṇḍilyapūrvakāḥ
Puis, à un moment donné, lors de la nuit sacrée de Śivarātri, des sages arrivèrent en ce sanctuaire ; le plus éminent parmi eux était Śāṇḍilya.
Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)
Type: temple
Scene: On Śivarātri night, a group of sages enters the temple prāsāda—matted hair, staffs, waterpots—led by Śāṇḍilya; the devotee and priests receive them with reverence; lamps illuminate their calm faces.
FAQs
When a sacred place is established and worship is maintained, it attracts saintly presence—confirming and amplifying the site’s holiness.
The prāsāda (temple) built for the liṅga in this narrative is the immediate sacred locus being honored by the sages’ arrival.
No new prescription; the verse marks the auspicious timing—Śivarātri—and the gathering at the temple.